ORE Catapult, in partnership with Danish blade strengthening specialists Bladena, hosted a two-day conference at its National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth, where developers and manufacturers met with world-leading research institutions to discuss the latest challenges in wind turbine blade testing, validation and certification and the latest research and innovations being developed to tackle them.

E.ON’s blade specialist Birgit Junker said: “This wind turbine owner network is of great importance to us as we are able to have technical discussions with a number of like-minded colleagues and experts (test, innovation and research centres). The importance of increasing the requirements for full-scale testing is essential to reduce the risk of blade damages – especially as the size of the blades increases.”

Bladena’s Chief Technical Officer, Find Mølholt Jensen, said: “It is interesting to see the latest developments that European test centres have achieved in full-scale testing with combined loading. This way of testing is possible today statically but is a challenge dynamically for very large blades. With the knowledge that has been shared at this seminar, I believe that it is possible to promote this process in the future.”

ORE Catapult’s Test Facilities Director Tony Quinn said: “The seminar has helped to give a better understanding of the issues affecting blade performance and explored the opportunity for improved design and more representative testing – developments that are important in further reducing the levelised cost of energy from offshore wind.”

The Team

Katie Snell

Having worked within the property department for 9 years, I have had the pleasure of working within the majority of the Nwes sites in the Norfolk and Waveney area. For the last 2.5 years I have been based at OrbisEnergy and more recently as Senior Coordinator overlooking the renewable hub and team.

Devon Mills

Devon has joined the team at OrbisEnergy as an Administration Coordinator in November 2014 and more recently a Centre Coordinator in January 2016. Having previously worked within various customer service roles she is pleased to be able to apply her skills and knowledge to her position at OrbisEnergy.

She is keen to build a strong understanding within the Offshore Renewable industry, whilst being able to develop a good mind for business and sales.

Johnathan Reynolds

Johnathan is responsible for all aspects of business and supply chain development for the flagship innovation and incubation centre for offshore renewables in the east of England, OrbisEnergy.

Matthew Holden

Matt’s role is Technical Support Manager, his main duty is leading the European Clusters for Offshore Wind Servicing Project (ECOWindS, www.ecowinds.eu) on behalf of Nwes. In addition to ECOWindS Matt’s role is provide support for the property team and to carry out specific project work.

John Balch

John is Managing Director of Nautilus, Director of Nwes and Hub Director of OrbisEnergy and Beacon Innovation Centre. He is a mechanical engineer and has broad experience gained over 40 years in the international offshore industry.